AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of November 4, 2011
eds. Joan Schmelz, Caroline Simpson & Michele Montgomery
This week's issues:
1. 1000+ Subscribers to AASWomen
2. Repercussions for Sexual Harassment
3. Offensive Article in Nature - Your Responses
4. APS/IBM Research Internships for Undergraduate Women
5. SMART Scholarships for BS, MS, and PhD
6. Amelia Earhart Fellowship
7. Women in Aerospace Scholarship
8. How to Submit to the AASWOMEN newsletter
9. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWOMEN newsletter
10. Access to Past Issues
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1. 1000+ Subscribers to AASWomen
Joan Schmelz [jschmelz_at_memphis.edu]
Caroline [Simpson] just informed me that we now have 1073 subscribers
to the AASWOMEN newsletter! This is the first time AASWOMEN has
broken the 1000-subscriber barrier.
Welcome new subscribers!
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2. Repercussions for Sexual Harassment
From: Mark Postman [postman_at_stsci.edu]
How do we as a professional society deal with the infrequent, but very
harmful, presence of repeat sexual harassers amongst our colleagues?
This is a serious issue that has been the topic of CSWA discussion,
driven by more than a few heart-wrenching emails and communications
that have been received over the course of the past few years.
[To read Mark Postman's suggestions, please read his article from The
Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy in the latest AAS
Newsletter which can be found at [On page 19 --- Webmaster]
http://aas.org/archives/Newsletter/Newsletter_161_2011_11_Nov_Dec.pdf ]
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3. Offensive Article in Nature - Your Responses
From: Lucianne Walkowicz [l.m.walkowicz_at_gmail.com]
[The last issue of the AASWOMEN newsletter included a article in
Nature from Ed Rybicki on Womanspace. One reader responded with a
letter to the editor-in-chief of Nature -- eds.]
Dear Philip,
It was a pleasure meeting you at TEDGlobal. When we spoke in July, you
asked me about the perception and role of Nature in the astrophysics
community. I very much enjoyed our discussion, but unfortunately what
has prompted my note to you today is a decidedly unpleasant update to
my opinion on that topic.
Yesterday, a piece by Ed Rybicki entitled "Womanspace" was brought to
my attention. In this story, Rybicki recounts an anecdote from his own
life as a means to opine on his perceived differences between men and
women. In just under 1000 words, he manages to cover a truly
jaw-dropping number of sexist stereotypes, including but not limited
to women being evolutionarily built for domestic chores, that the
primary concerns of men are to debate heady theories while women shop
for to-die-for shoes and husbands, and so on. Rybicki, in his response
to the article comments, indicates that the intent of his article was
to be harmless, funny and charming.
It is neither funny nor charming, and it is most certainly not
harmless. What it is is an excellent example of the kind of
unconscious bias that is not only difficult to eradicate, but has
concrete, deleterious effects on the careers of women every day, not
the least of them women in academia. That Rybicki knows a female
academic (his wife) who enjoys his story is irrelevant-- the holders
of sexist views come from both genders.
The fact that sexist stereotypes not only exist but pervade all
corners of our lives is not a surprise-- a library's worth of shelves
could be filled with the number of books and magazines that regularly
appear to promote these ideas. Indeed, some of the biggest offenders
are mainstream magazines actually targeted at women.
But you are not the Editor-in-Chief of Cosmopolitan, you are the
Editor-in-Chief of Nature, an academic journal devoted to the
dissemination of scientific results. Surely you realize that the
appearance of an article like this in a journal like yours gives the
viewpoints set forth a legitimacy they do not warrant. As such, I
cannot imagine what this piece is doing in the pages of your journal.
Perhaps you can explain it to me, so that this article may become an
opportunity for dialogue rather than a waste of space.
Sincerely,
Lucianne Walkowicz
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4. APS/IBM Research Internships for Undergraduate Women
From: WIPHYS, October 27, 2011
APS and IBM co-sponsor a research internship program for undergraduate
women. The goal is to encourage women students to pursue graduate
studies in science and engineering. The internships are salaried
positions typically 10 weeks long at one of three IBM research
locations (San Jose, CA, Austin, TX, or Yorktown Heights, NY), and
give the opportunity to work closely with an IBM mentor. For more
information and to apply, please visit:
http://www.aps.org/programs/women/scholarships/ibm/index.cfm
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5. SMART Scholarships for BS, MS, and PhD
From: WIPHYS, October 27, 2011
The Science, Mathematics And Research for Transformation (SMART)
Scholarship for Service Program is an opportunity for students
pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree in Science, Technology,
Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines to receive a full
scholarship and be gainfully employed upon degree completion. For
more information and to apply, visit:
https://smart.asee.org/
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6. Amelia Earhart Fellowship
From: Michele M. Montgomery [montgomery_at_physics.ucf.edu]
Established in 1938 in honor of famed pilot and Zontian, Amelia
Earhart, the Amelia Earhart Fellowship is awarded annually to women
pursuing Ph.D./doctoral degrees in aerospace-related sciences and
aerospace-related engineering. Amelia Earhart Fellows have gone on to
become astronauts, aerospace engineers, astronomers, professors,
geologists, business owners, heads of companies, even Secretary of the
US Air Force. Applications for the 2012 Fellowships must be received
or post-marked by 15 November 2011 to be considered. For more
information, please see
http://www.zonta.org/WhatWeDo/InternationalPrograms/AmeliaEarhartFellowship.aspx
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7. Women in Aerospace Scholarship
From: Matthew A. Greenhouse [matthew.a.greenhouse_at_nasa.gov]
At least one award of $1000 will be given to a rising senior in
college, to be applied to the 2013-2014 academic year. Women
undergraduate students who are interested in pursuing a career in the
aerospace field should check out the requirements to see if they are
eligible to apply for this scholarship:
http://www.womeninaerospace.org/news/10-18-2011_1.html
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8. How to Submit to the AASWOMEN newsletter
To submit an item to the AASWOMEN newsletter, including replies to
topics, send email to aaswomen_at_aas.org
All material will be posted unless you tell us otherwise, including
your email address.
Please remember to replace "_at_" in the e-mail address above.
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9. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWOMEN newsletter
To subscribe or unsubscribe to the AASWOMEN newsletter, please fill in
the required information at:
http://lists.aas.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/aaswlist
If you experience any problems, please email itdept_at_aas.org
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10. Access to Past Issues
http://www.aas.org/cswa/AASWOMEN.html
Each annual summary includes an index of topics covered.
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End of AASWList Digest, Vol 57, Issue 1
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